Kerry Brothers Jr. (born October 1, 1970) better known as "Krucial", "Krucial Keys" or, as Alicia Keys often refers to him, "K", is a multi-Grammy Award winning producer and an American songwriter, executive producer, record producer and artist.
He has worked on four of Alicia Keys' multi-platinum albums: Songs in A Minor (2001), The Diary of Alicia Keys (2003), As I Am (2007) and The Element of Freedom (2009). In addition to Keys, Brothers has worked with R&B and hip hop artists including Mario, Rakim, Angie Stone, Nas, Keyshia Cole, Goapele, Drake and K'naan. Brothers entered into a prolific musical partnership with Keys in the mid 1990s, which resulted in his co-writing and producing a number of tracks as well as help creatively oversee her debut, sophomore and following two later albums. Songs in A Minor and The Diary of Alicia Keys respectively have both sold over 30 million copies worldwide. Brothers has produced, written, arranged and composed songs that have appeared on motion picture soundtracks such as Dr. Dolittle, Drumline, Shaft, and Ali. His collaborative work with Keys, earned him two Grammy Awards: Best R&B Album (Songs in A Minor) and Best R&B Song ("No One").